Gymnophoria
by pandasize
Summary: A drabble fill for a request I received for my drabble meme on Tumblr. Gymnophoria - The sensation that someone is mentally undressing you. Pairing: IDW Karai x IDW Foot Clan Leo. Drabble contains spoilers from the IDW comic book series.


**Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or make money off this fic.**

**Summary: This drabble is a fill for a request that I received from a drabble meme on Tumblr.**

**Gymnophoria - The sensation that someone is mentally undressing you.  
Pairing: IDW!Karai and Leo  
Requested by: hotmilkytea**

WARNING: IDW SPOILERS. This is based in the IDW comic universe. If you're not all caught up on the issues, just note that there are spoilers in this drabble.

* * *

The male lion is showy with his enormous mane. His size is intimidating, and his roar thunderous. It is easy to see why he gets all the attention as the leader of the pride, but many forget that it is the _lioness'_ cunning and skill that keeps her clan fed.

_The lioness does not get enough credit. _

Karai remembers this when her head slams against the mat of the dojo floor.

_But she knows her opportunity for the most devastating strike opens when she is closest to her prey._

"Submit!" Leonardo bellows in the kunoichi's face.

Shredder's new chunin is an impressive sight indeed. Sleek, dark armor encases his hulking form; black bandages bind his muscular thighs; and he is armed to the teeth with shuriken, ninjato, katana, and bombs. It's flashy, but Karai knows his bark is louder than his bite.

"Disobey me again in front of the insubordinates," Leonardo growls, slapping her hard across the cheek. "And I will render you as worthless as you look."

His massive weight is upon her. Pinned to the ground, Karai knows exactly how to take his balance and reverse their roles. After all, Kitsune's magic has noticeably slowed him down, muddled his mind, and filled him with second guesses. _Worthless? I single-handedly resurrected from the Foot from the ashes of weakness and corruption. You can't even muster the strength to kill._ She smiles at the thought. "And if I don't listen? What will _you_ do, Chunin? Kill me?"

It strikes a chord, and he strikes her.

"INSOLENT!" he roars, speckles of spittle splattering her. His beastly large hand seizes her throat and crushes the air out of it. "I'll show you what I am capable of! I will put you in your _place_."

Her lips twitch at the sting. She could end him now, but Master Shredder would have her head on a platter for killing his precious chunin —his so-called _one true heir._

She needs another plan, and so she sneers at him.

His eyes are wild, frantic, searching for...the strength to finish her? Or memories of past again? Eye whites flicker for a fleeting moment to a pair of striking, bright blue pupils wrought with pain and confusion.

_It is the latter._

The lioness pounces.

* * *

Leonardo unwillingly slackens his grip on his opponent's throat. _No! End her defiance! Make an example of her! _His mind commands his hands finish the job, but they just won't cooperate to his mounting frustration. Something breaks through the surface of his consciousness instead.  
_  
The rat is screaming, screaming for him to cover his brothers. Three other turtles fight alongside him against the Foot. They're swarmed. Alopex is charging at the turtle in red, leaving him to face….Karai. "There's your girlfriend, Leo!" one of the other turtles teases jovially mid-battle. "Watch out! Looks like she's in a bad mood!"_

He shakes the thick haze and echoing voices out of his mind.

"Chunin! Ch-chunin! I submit to you!"

Her wheezing plea snaps him back to the present. He stares at the woman between his legs. _Karai._ He's pinned her, squeezing the white column of her neck closed; her black hair is splayed madly behind her head. She's coughing submission, but there is something in her eyes that he distrusts.

He strikes her once more on the jaw for good measure before standing. "_Never_ forget your place," he orders bitterly. She gasps greedily for breath while he grasps desperately at his sanity. He is angry at her, but more so at himself. _Don't show weakness. The hallucinations are getting worse, but you can't let them defeat you!  
_

Karai sits up; her usually defiant eyes have transformed into something else. Her gaze washes over every inch of him, from head to toe. "I apologize for my insubordination. You look troubled, Leo- Chunin. What is wrong?" Was it his imagination or did she smile at her own slip-up?

"I-I..need to see Kitsune," he clears his throat gruffly, turning away to mask his disorientated state.

"No!" she says too quickly, regaining his attention. "I mean...I apologize for my previous act of disobedience, Chunin. Let me demonstrate my loyalty and _worth_ to the Foot. _To you._ No need to trouble Kitsune, who is undoubtedly busy with Master Shredder's many demands."

A dull ache blooms in the back of his head. Kitsune and Master Shredder, standing together much like another couple etched into his subconsciousness...Could it be?

_No. Karai was right. I can't stumble to Kitsune and Master Shredder in this confused condition. _

"What can the likes of you do for me?" Leonardo strained to keep the authority in his voice, while he felt her eyes wash over him from behind.

"Anything you want."

Even with his shell towards her, the weight of her unwavering stare was too penetrating. He bears his teeth, and turns around to stare her down, but she doesn't react. Darkened brown eyes glimmer with a hint of…mischief? He wants to smack her across the face, but the way she looks at him now stirs something within him, and suddenly his hand is too heavy and his armor too constricting.

Slowly her gaze trickles down from his face to his lips, across the broad span of his shoulders, down his plated chest piece, belted weapons, and towards…Leonardo looked away with a growl. "Karai, what do you think you're-" Heat rises to his face from...anger? Yes, but something else he can't -no,_won't_-describe.

Leonardo is suddenly hyper aware of his every movement, the quickening pulse in his veins, how tightly he crossed his arms as he the last strands of clarity and control slip through his fingertips.

"Chunin?" her voice was silky enough to send both a shiver up his spine and fury through his heart. "Tell me what I can do for you…"

He knew he was exposed.


End file.
